Don't Let Me Hurt You
by I-Am-Kingofgames
Summary: Part three in the "Is This a Game?" Universe.-Finally finishing the first two goals of the giant game they all currently inhabit, Yami, Yugi, Yami Bakura, and Ryou, are left to deal with the third goal of the game. But is this really a goal? Or is this just Yami Bakura's twisted morbid curiosity? A sick experiment within the game? Will this change their relationship forever?
1. Chapter 1

**(As this story is a part 3 to a series, it probably wouldn't be well understood on it's own. The first two parts are old, and although I'm not proud of everything in them, I still recommend you read them before this, as it's the only way it'll really all make sense)**

 **Author's Note:**

 **The first part of this has been sitting on my hard drive for a very long time. It was always my intention for "Is This a Game?" to be a 7 part story, with 7 goals before the end. I had the first 3 or 4 planned, and then life happened and I completed the first two, and this, the beginning of the third arc, has been sitting here unpublished, for longer than I even want to remember.**

 **I was reading back through the reviews to my original story, and it made me realize that I'm not done with that universe. Oh, no, I'm just getting started.**

 **So, after over a year, I present to you, the first chapter of the third arc of my YuGiOh game world.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

When Yugi woke up, it took him a second to remember what happened the day before.

Feeling Yami's soul next to his instantly jogged his memory.

"Good mornin' Yami~"

He wasn't quite used to this voice again, yet. It was the voice his character had. His original character. The one who's memories he used to have. He still felt a bit of guilt, for forgetting all of it...

The memories he had left were strange.

He remembered meeting Ryou's character for the first time, but he also remembered crying, at the time. He'd been so sad... but why? Because he was forgetting, right? It didn't seem that sad now. Of course, he supposed that the information he forgot is what made it sad.

He barely had time to yawn and throw a clean T-shirt on before he heard a knock on the door.

Now he had to play his character.

The game piece he'd inhabited only the night before was gone. He didn't know how, but didn't really have the energy to question it.

This game was crazy. Crap like that happened.

When he finally made it to the door, he was shocked at what he saw.

Ryou.

Back in his original "game piece", just like Yugi was.

Bruised and battered and beaten.

And then he remembered why. Of course.

Ryou looked awful. It didn't seem like he'd been able to get all of the blood out of his hair, probably because of his black eye, and the swelling bruises on his face. He looked weak and sore.

"Ryou, I..."

"It's alright, Yugi..." he said, sounding exhausted. "I'm sure you can guess what I'm here for...?"

"The third goal..."

he whispered under his breath.

He knew Yami was watching now. Closely. He could feel his guilt almost strong enough for it to be his own.

"Yeah... it's... you... well...ah, I'll let him explain..."

He glanced at Yugi, a silent warning, 'I'm going to let him take over now and so I won't be offended if you take a few steps back'.

Yugi did take a step back, but only one.

The first thing Yami Bakura did to make himself known was giggle.

"Oh, you're going to love this, Pharaoh."

This can't have been good... why was he so... happy? He lost the last goal...

"Did you like beating my host unconscious? Because you're probably going to enjoy it even more, doing it to your own!"

"Wh-what..?"

Yami would never hurt him. Never. Even in his murderous rage yesterday, he hadn't hurt him.

Bakura laughed. His laugh never sounded... sane.

"Oh, little Yugi, this is by far my favorite goal in this entire game~"

Oh no... this really can't have been good...

" _Aibou, can I talk to him?"_

-Only if you promise you won't hurt him...-

" _I promise."_

-No matter what he says...?-

" _No matter what he says, I promise. You can trust me, Yugi."_

-Alright...-

And suddenly everything shifted and Yugi was feeling his own soul, instead of the still unfamiliar body/game piece that didn't belong to him.

"Just tell us the goal, Bakura."

"Here to apologize, Pharaoh? Look at what poor Ryou has had to endure since yesterday. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, too." He said, gesturing to the clear injuries on his face.

"I'm sorry, _Ryou_."

He said, purposefully apologizing to Ryou and not the evil spirit residing in his body.

"I didn't expect as much out of you! Well then, I guess I'd better tell you what we'll be doing for the next little while then, hm?"

"Yes please."

Yami was being uncharacteristically polite, for Ryou's sake, and for Yugi's. Only a little bit of it was sarcasm. Just a tiny bit.

Bakura laughed again.

"As you know, we've been playing characters. Or at least, our hosts have. The first goal was theirs, and the second counted on both players. The third... well, it's just for us. Exciting, isn't it? We'll be playing characters this time too, dear Pharaoh."

"You intend to separate us again?"

He asked, keeping his voice flat.

"Oh no. Nothing of the sort. You and little Yugi are going to be as close as possible for the next goal." He grinned evilly, "In this goal you and I will be playing:"

He actually paused for dramatic effect, and Yami couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Each other."

The whole world stopped.

"What?"

"You heard me! You'll be playing me, and I'll be playing you!"

"What does that mean? I have to be hateful and vengeful and... awful?"

Bakura glared at him. "The hate, specifically."

"And how do you think you're going to play me? Do you realize how well you'd have to treat Ryou?"

"Oh yes, that's why I have help. This goal has help. You couldn't play me either, without help. This is about a lesson in... how does it go? Walking in each other's shoes."

"And... how are you going to do that?"

"This game will let us borrow a couple of... essential personality traits. I'm not all that excited about mine, but I'm certain it won't get to me. Not like yours will."

"Borrow traits...? What do you mean...?"

His grin was downright scary. Especially on his injured face.

"You see, this game has many abilities. It can play with memories and more importantly at the moment, emotions. I'm just going to switch a couple around. You see, I'm going to get one of yours, and you're going to get one of mine."

"Which ones...?"

It wasn't quite hitting the spirit yet, what this would mean. Yugi was watching, also uncertain. Yami would have to "play" Bakura? What did that mean? How would he do it? What was the purpose? "Walking in each other's shoes"?

"Oh this is the best part. I will be receiving your compassion. Stealing it from you, if you will. And in return, you'll be receiving my hatred. I have enough for several people, anyway."

"I'll have... your hatred...?"

"Oh yes. You'll scream at your host, and you'll hit him, and you'll possess him harshly against his will, and I am saddened that I won't be here to see it. It'll be quite the show."

"I...This has to be done, doesn't it."

"It does." he laughed again. He sounded like quite the maniac, today. "You have... hmm... lets see... about an hour."

"...Go. Prepare yourself. You won't feel like letting Ryou feel that," he pointed at his face, "in an hour."

"I'm on my way out~ You underestimate the strength of my hatred. I'll still make him feel it."

And he closed the door behind him, leaving the soon to be changed spirit alone with his "host".

"Yugi, take off the-"

he stopped...

"That won't work... it's not here, the Puzzle isn't here, we're in this stupid game, and I'm tied directly to this game piece..."

He was all out panicking, be it quietly.

He shut the bedroom door and started pacing. Yugi let him, knowing he needed the space.

"What are we going to do...? Yugi, what'll we do...?"

-Calm down, Yami! It's not that big of a deal. You just have to play Bakrua, that's all. You won't do anything bad though. I know you better than that.-

He continued pacing.

"No, Yugi, you don't understand, I... I'm... I'll hurt you... I don't want to hurt you..."

Yugi appeared in spirit form beside him, attempting to comfort him.

"Yami, you're not going to hurt me... I know you better than that. You know better than that, and I trust you."

Yugi hadn't noticed until he heard the shaky breath. Yami was crying.

"Yami... don't cry...it'll be ok..."

"I'll hurt you...I know I will... I … I can't handle his hatred...Oh Yugi, there's no predicting what I'm going to do to you... and I can't run... you can't just take the puzzle off, this time... you can't escape... you won't... y-you won't be able to escape..."

Yugi put his hand on Yami's shoulder. He looked up at him, his eyes glossy with tears, and some already falling down his face.

"Y-Yugi... switch with me... all I can do now is try my best to protect you from myself..."

His head hung low in shame, he let himself enjoy Yugi's presence for the last few seconds.

Yugi nodded, and closed his eyes as he took control again.

He wiped the tears out of his eyes with his sleeve, determined not to let emotion overcome him, as well.

" _We only have around half an hour, now... I don't know how long it'll last, but I want you to do your best to keep safe, alright...? If that means fighting me, do it. I wish I was sealed to an item right now, instead of this game piece... don't let me hurt you, Aibou... don't let me hurt you... Physically, OR mentally..."_

Mentally... Yugi knew he could do some real damage if he wanted to. He could make it hurt when he took over. It WAS possession, after all. He could lock him in his soul room. He could potentially do a lot of harm... but he wouldn't. Yugi knew he wouldn't.

"Don't worry, Yami. I'll be fine. Just... fight it, ok? You've dealt with hatred before. It's not going to feel alien to you. You know how to work through it. Just don't let yourself get too worked up, that's all."

" _Hikari, it's hardly going to be_ _ **me**_ _anymore..."_

Yami was already being careful. Yugi could feel it. Everything he did, even his words were careful.

"I trust you, Yami."

" _Don't. Not anymore. Not even for a minute. You need to treat me as if I'm Bakura for the next little while."_

"Mou hitori no boku..."

" _For now, I'm going to do what I can to protect you."_

And Yugi felt him drifting back into his soul room.

"But Yami, I... I just got you back... I just got you back, don't go..."

/I have to. It's to keep you safe./

Came his answer from a deeper place in his mind than usual.

-But Yami I...-

/No, Yugi... I have to...to...I can't get away from you, but I have to try to get as far away as I can.../

Yugi was slightly hurt. He knew Yami didn't want to leave him, though. Over the next few minutes, he could feel that over their link.

He could feel the deep sadness and utter fear...

And then... nothing. Yami cut him off entirely. He was buried somewhere extremely deep in Yugi's heart and soul. It felt like he was asleep...

To Yugi, it felt like back in the beginning. When he wouldn't wake up except for to punish people he thought deserved it.

For the first time in a long time, he felt... lonely.

He occupied himself with a journal or some cards, for the next little while.

He felt it when the magic hit.

He felt Yami shift, and then panic and try to bury himself even deeper into his un-sleep in Yugi's mind.

Yugi even gently tried to coax him out.

-Yami? Can you hear me? You can come see me, you know... we're safe here...-

He got no reply.

Yugi wasn't as concerned about the hatred as Yami was. He knew he could handle it. No, it was something else that was bothering Yugi.

Bakura said he'd be taking his compassion. Stealing it. Didn't that mean Yami wouldn't have any left? He knew Yami could handle a little bit of hatred, but it was seeing him without compassion that had him nervous...

He had low amounts of compassion when they first met, but he still had it. He'd spared people or given them punishments that could even help, in the longrun.

So, this would be a new version of him. One Yugi had never seen before. One who couldn't care about him the same way. He tried to prepare himself emotionally, for that.

His Yami would be different now, and he might seem to care less. That would hurt.

And then, all within a few seconds, Yami came out from his hiding place, and Yugi found himself floating a couple of feet beside where he knew he was standing.

He hadn't asked permission, or even warned him of what he was going to do.

-Mou hitori no boku...?-

"I'm going to give Bakura a piece of my mind. And maybe my fist."

-No, Yami, calm down...-

Could it be this bad, already?

"You think you can tell me what to do?"

It could...

-N-No... I just... I felt how scared you were, a minute ago... I wanted to help...-

Fear flickered in his eyes again. He was scared. But the lack of compassion was really canceling out the fear.

"I don't care."

-Yami, please... slow down... talk to me...-

"I don't think I feel like talking."

And with a harder shove than he was used to, Yugi found himself staring at the walls of his soul room.

It wasn't like his darker half to shove him in here like this, let alone with no explanation.

"Yami, please! I know you can hear me!"

A pause. Dead silent air, the quiet stillness just as unreal, existing only in his mind, as this room was.

/If you're going to be ungrateful, then you can sleep./

And in the same instant, Yugi's vision started going dark around the edges, and he could already feel sleep approaching, completely against his will.

"Wait, I-!"

But sleep only pulled him in faster.

His Yami had only done this in the very beginning, but it wasn't for the same reasons, then. He was afraid. Even if he knew that Yami could feel his fear and that if this was as bad as it looked, he might be punished for it, for his last few seconds of coherent thought before sleep, he was afraid.

Finally, as he was pulled completely into his unwanted coma, a false sense of peace settled over him as he slept.


	2. Chapter 2

Anzu didn't tell anyone what had been happening.

No one knew that she still wore the ring under her shirts, or that she'd been too weak to attend dance class for the last week.

She didn't tell anyone about the blackouts, or gaps in her memory.

But if it kept going on like this, she'd be too weak to go to school.

She understood why.

Anzu was smarter than people gave her credit for.

She knew she wasn't meant to wear the ring.

She understood that she was lucky to be alive, after having it on for this long.

The spirit of the ring couldn't talk to her the same way it did to Ryou. Their minds weren't connected quite the same way.

Instead, his words popped into her head accompanying a horrible high pitched screeching sound, among other unpleasant things.

Today, she had trouble getting out of bed, the weakness had progressed so far. She hoped that the spirit didn't intend to slowly kill her this way. Surely not. He still needed her, after all.

Her ears started to ring, signaling her to his presence.

/Take it off, Anzu./

She cringed against the pain that always came with his words.

"What? I thought you said not to until the game was over?"

/It's hurting you, isn't it? Take it off./

"Why do you care if it hurts me?"

/Call it a temporary change of heart. As much enjoyment as I used to gain out of seeing you in pain, it seems to be bothering me, now. So do as I say. Take it off./

That was a long sentence. Had it been any longer, her headache might've drowned out his words. But there was something she had to know before she finally relieved herself of his presence completely.

"First tell me if he's safe. Tell me Yugi's ok."

/He's about as safe as Ryou used to be./

Ryou felt it when the magic hit, but he didn't expect much difference from his "other half".

The spirit who stole his last name would likely be just as ruthless and hateful as he always was.

Even if the spirit had been tied to the Ring in this game as he was in the real world, Ryou had learned a long time ago to stop trying to take it off. Removing the ring wasn't allowed and would lead to punishment if he allowed even the idea of doing it to linger in his mind for too long.

Yes, Ryou was fairly sure this next goal wouldn't change much, if anything at all.

/Does it hurt?/

He was a little surprised to hear the voice, but what really threw him off was the tone of it. That _was_ the spirit that lived in his head, right? It sounded like him. It just didn't sound like something he would ask, or a tone he would use.

/Yes, it's me, stop spacing out and answer me./

"What, my face? Yeah, it hurts."

/Let me see./

Ryou expected to be shoved to the side. He expected to feel more pain, just in a different way. Expected the spirit to laugh and shove him back into control, telling him he shouldn't be such a crybaby and to learn to live with pain.

He did not, at all, expect the spirit to reach out, tapping into his senses without taking direct control. He very very rarely did that, and it was even strange feeling it again.

The spirit had his usual walls up around his mind, and his emotions, so Ryou couldn't tell at all what he was feeling, but after a few seconds, he retreated, leaving Ryou to wonder why he wasn't being his usual amount of cruel and unforgiving.

The only reason Ryou was even being allowed to be the main person in his body (or his game piece) right now, was because the spirit was making him feel the injuries, as punishment for not finding him in the last goal.

"What are you doing...?"

Without warning, he was pushed to the side after all, the spirit standing in his place. But, to his shock, it didn't hurt. The spirit wasn't exactly gentle, but he didn't shove. He didn't make it painful. It was against his will, or at least, without permission, but it didn't hurt. In fact...nothing hurt anymore.

The pain from the injuries went completely numb, and he let out a little involuntary sigh of relief, as he relaxed, finally free from the lingering ache of a severely bruised face and even a few bruised ribs.

" _Why...?"_

He heard the spirit who currently had complete control over his body sigh. An actual sigh. Not an expression of defeat, but one of...remorse?

That couldn't be right. The spirit didn't feel remorse.

Ryou knew him well enough to know that he simply didn't feel remorse. He didn't have any-oh.

Compassion.

Ryou's evil spirit gained compassion. Or at least, more compassion? Had the spirit had any before at all? He wasn't sure, but he knew he was acting differently.

"I was the one who sustained these injuries. I won't say I deserved them, because I certainly didn't, but you've been the one feeling my pain for a long while now."

Ryou sat in shocked silence.

The spirit had never spoken to him like this before.

" _I-...You're so different..."_

"Shut up."

That was a lot more like the version of him that Ryou know.

" _I uhh... thank you... for feeling the pain for me..."_

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

But his tone was a lot less venomous than Ryou thought he'd probably like it to be.

As for Yami Bakura, he was somewhat confused. He didn't like how he was feeling. It made some part of him sick. Absolutely disgusted with himself. They had a goal here and being nice to his host had literally nothing to do with his plan. It didn't help at all. The desire shouldn't even have been there.

He was angry at himself for it.

Had he underestimated the strength of the compassion he received?

No. That couldn't be it.

He could see that he was acting differently. He _felt_ different. And he could do absolutely nothing to stop it.

It made him angry, but he was going in circles. Angry, and then the magic would kick back in and remind him that most of his hatred was gone.

No, all of it was gone.

Was that even possible?

Could he have made a mistake in the rules?

Could you even steal _all_ of an emotion like that?

Thinking back, remembering actually writing the rules for this goal was more difficult than he liked.

Surely he hadn't meant for this to happen.

Or, maybe he had. He could act. He was an excellent actor, actually. And that's all he had to do now. Just act. Play the part until the goal ended.

Meanwhile, his host was sitting cross-legged on the floor, completely dumbfounded.

The dark spirit actually felt responsible, at least in part, for the non-stop pain he was currently feeling.

He knew he shouldn't have, but he did. That's why he was the one standing there feeling it, when he had much better things he could be doing.

He concluded that he didn't _like_ being without his hate.

He didn't like it at all.

It made him feel...vulnerable.

Therefore, he was going to keep up all of his metaphorical walls around his mind and his emotions. He didn't need Ryou being able to read him now.

Especially since he almost felt the need to...protect him.

Is this what his opponent felt like all the time? Is this why he protected his host as though he was valuable?

The feeling of disgust from knowing that he was feeling like that filthy joke of a king did, was quickly fading in the absence of his hatred.

 _This_ was how the pharaoh felt? All the time?

Speaking of him...

"I can't imagine how Yugi's dear pharaoh is acting right now."

That got Ryou's attention, as he stiffened and turned in the spirit's direction.

" _What do you m-...oh. Right... he's going to be acting different too...Yugi's in danger, isn't he..."_

The spirit was caught between offended and complete agreement. Yes, Yugi was in danger. But he was in danger because the pharaoh would be acting more like _he_ did?

"Yes, I suppose he is. As much danger as you were in yesterday. Although, I can't say what that hatred is going to do to his personality. It's not certain that it'll do the same to him as it did to me. I know he was a lot more fun to fight back before he let his little moral compass make all the decisions."

Ryou looked like he'd seen a ghost, despite currently sort of _being one_.

" _He is in danger, then... a lot of it...I...we should..."_

"You want to try to help him?"

Ryou looked down, his cheeks going pink, like he regretted saying that, waiting for the spirit to snap at him about how they weren't going to help the enemy.

"I didn't say we couldn't do it."

His eyes widened in complete shock.

" _Wh-what?!"_

"Don't act so surprised, dear _Landlord."_

Ryou rolled his eyes and nearly laughed at the spirit's choice of words.

" _Don't call me that...but we could really-...we could go help him?"_

"I said we could try. I don't really want to help him. I just want to see the show."

But he doubted the sincerity of that last comment.

Either way, they were really going to do this!

Ryou was wary of the spirit still, despite his changed personality.

Yami Bakura was nothing if not an absolutely amazing actor. And there was a chance, even with the magic, that he was acting, to get Ryou to let his guard down. That wasn't going to happen.

" _If we do go to help him...what can we do? If Yugi's-...if-...is there any way we can help...?"_

"To be entirely too honest with you, no, not really. I designed this specifically so that it'd be hard to get him out of danger."

And there it was. The spirit was still immensely dangerous. Despite how different he was acting, he was still a danger. Still someone to be careful around.

They set off across town, because Ryou insisted. Even if they couldn't help Yugi, it wasn't like they couldn't try.


	3. Chapter 3

Yami was pacing.

Dealing with feelings he didn't understand. Apathy that didn't make sense. It made him angry.

The anger didn't make sense either.

He couldn't deny that he was scared only moments ago, but now? Now the fear was gone completely. Replaced by...something.

Well, he knew exactly what it was replaced with. Yami Bakura told him as much.

Hatred.

But for what? He wasn't sure. He felt a lot of hate towards Bakura right now, so maybe that was it.

But the part that should have scared him but didn't, was that he didn't care anymore. He couldn't bring himself to care about something that he knew logically he should care immensely about. Someone he should more than care about.

Yugi was asleep.

He'd felt his partner's fear as he pushed him into unwilling sleep, and he hadn't cared.

He didn't care if Yugi was scared. He didn't care if he was hurt.

The thought should have scared him. But it didn't.

It made him feel powerful.

If he didn't care if Yugi was hurt, he could use his power to the fullest. The power he somehow had back for this goal.

Wait.

His power was back. Shadows dancing at his fingertips, begging to be used. Begging him to let them play.

How?

He didn't care how. He smirked.

Finally. It'd been far too long since he'd been able to use the shadows like this. And now that he didn't have Yugi in his way...

How long had he thought about Yugi like that? As something in his way?

For about the last 5 minutes.

But he was finding it easy to see him that way now.

He felt Yugi waking up, shifting at the back of his mind.

Maybe it'd be nice to have someone to talk to. Assuming he wanted Yugi to know how he was feeling right now.

Sure, he couldn't act as well as Yami Bakura could, but he was also known for being able to hold a good poker face. Even if he wasn't Hollywood worthy, he knew he could fool Yugi, or anyone else, if he so chose.

But should he?

He didn't see a reason why not.

Meanwhile, Yugi was waking up. He chose to let it happen, rather than pushing him back into sleep.

Yugi's fear hit him full force, and although he knew it should've turned his stomach, it didn't. It didn't bother him a single bit. Was he numb now? Or just numb to Yugi's feelings?

He didn't get joy out of Yugi's fear. He simply felt nothing from it. It didn't make him want to fix it like he knew it used to.

Suddenly, Yugi's transparent image was beside him, looking stern.

" _Listen, Yami. You said yourself two minutes ago not to let you hurt me. And you know what? That didn't feel nice. No. Don't DO that. If you think I'm not gonna stand up to you-"_

"I'm sorry, Aibou."

Yugi was interrupted mid-sentence by his sincere sounding apology.

" _What?"_

"I'm sorry. I was just...when the magic hit, I got confused and I acted without thinking. I'm sorry."

Yugi knew he had to be a little wary, at least. But this really sounded like his Yami.

" _No more forcing me to sleep, ok? I don't like it. It freaks me out."_

And Yami wished that he would have cared that it freaked him out. He wished he could sincerely tell Yugi he'd never do it again without acting. No, it wasn't even acting, at this point. It was _lying_. And somehow, that didn't bother him either.

He gave Yugi his most sincere smile.

"You can trust me, Aibou."

There should have been some part of him that was unhappy with lying to Yugi. There should have been something in him that wanted to tell Yugi not to trust him at all. But there wasn't. No, he believed, as confused as he was himself at his own thoughts, that he had every right to hide things.

Yugi was looking at him as though he didn't necessarily believe, but close enough. He was still too trusting.

Why had he been so concerned he'd hurt him, again? What did it matter if Yugi was hurt? It wasn't like it would make any difference to him and his plans.

What _was_ his plan?

Of course, when the magic stopped, he'd be left feeling like he did before...

Vulnerable...

Soft...

He wasn't exactly sure he wanted that.

" _Yami?"_

What did he want now? This child was really going to get in his way, wasn't he. He could always make him sleep again, but he didn't want to lose Yugi's trust so easily.

"Yes?"

He tried not to sound annoyed or short with the boy, and he knew he could act, could lie, well enough to pull it off.

" _Are you ok...? How are you feeling...?"_

He almost wished he could give his partner the truth. He almost wished the word "partners" still described them.

"I'm just fine, Aibou."

Yugi still looked wary and the spirit knew he had to change his method if Yugi wasn't going to trust him.

He had acted too hastily when he put Yugi to sleep. It was a bad move. He lost his trust so quickly...He'd have to earn it back, even if it wasn't real on his part.

" _Yami, I know you feel different...You don't have to hide it, though. It's alright... We'll get through this together."_

Different? Yes. But he couldn't talk openly about it. Why would he? It'd ruin the perfectly good train of thought he had going. Besides, he wanted to earn back Yugi's trust, not shatter it by letting it slip that he couldn't feel like he used to, towards him.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before, I promise. Remember in the beginning? That's what I feel like, a little. It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be."

He forced a fake sigh of relief, to put Yugi's fears to rest.

He honestly found himself almost wishing he could trust the boy. No, trust felt hard now. Hate felt easy. Blind, foolish, all-consuming hate. And the emotion he didn't feel...compassion, as it took him a minute to remember exactly the way Bakura worded this little riddle of a goal, seemed absurd.

Compassion seemed out of place. Why treat anything with respect when all of these idiots and their entire stupid game deserved to burn?

None of them could feel how he felt, so he had no room to even try to step into their shoes.

His hatred was so intense he had to keep strong barriers around his thoughts if he didn't want Yugi seeing it.

" _See? I told you it wouldn't be too bad!"_

In fact, it was very hard not to snap at him for interrupting his thoughts, _repeatedly_. Even just his host's unnecessary enthusiasm seemed to be bothering him.

"Yugi, give me time to process this, alright?"

It took a lot not to yell at him. He would have, if he hadn't wanted so badly to keep Yugi calm.

He pushed him back into control, trying not to be harsh about it, although he probably wasn't as gentle as he would have liked to be.

"Ok...are you-?"

Yugi's words were cut off by what felt like a mental door shutting in the middle of them.

"Oh..ok then.."

A knock at the door, the real one this time, stopped his train of thought yet again.

Ok, he thought as he tried to get it back on track as he walked to the door. Who could possibly be-

Bakura?

No, Ryou. Why was Ryou here...?

"Yugi, this is important, we need to talk."

No, he was wrong! It was Bakura! He'd almost never been wrong about that before. What was happening to everyone?

"What... ? Why...?"

"Listen to me!" He hissed, causing Yugi to give him an accusing glare.

Bakura stepped closer, and Yugi took a step back, still extremely wary.

"I hate to say this, but you've got nothing to fear from me. I don't think I could hurt you right now even if I wanted to."

What? That couldn't be right. The spirit of the ring was always capable of causing someone else pain.

"Where is he?"

Yugi was growing more confused by the minute.

"What?"

"I need to talk to _you_. Where is he?"

Yugi reached for him, only to find a wall, and the equivalent of a mental question mark.

"I-I...he's...he can't hear us, I don't think...why...?"

He sent back a 'nevermind' and threw up a couple of thin mental barriers of his own.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah...why?"

"Stop with the unnecessary fear. I already said I'm not going to hurt you. It's not me you should be afraid of right now."

Yugi was more than confused, he was suspicious and slightly nervous and absolutely completely lost.

"This is important and it's important that he can't hear us. You know how this works as well as I do. Block him out as much as you can without making him suspicious."

But what if Bakura was only saying that to leave him unprotected...? He did put up walls, because he knew there was magic involved changing their personalities, but he didn't block him out completely, in case he needed to call on him for help.

"Ok, he can't hear us...what's going on..?"

Bakura looked...strange. Not very much like himself. He looked almost...of course. Compassionate. Bakura with compassion. Yugi was surprised he hadn't imploded or something. Of course, he was human too, but seeing him like this was downright...unnerving.

"You're in danger. Serious danger. We came to help, if we can."

Yugi actually laughed. The situation was too much. Bakura and Yami were sort of similar if you really got down to it, but right now, they really were sounding more like each other than themselves. Which, Yugi supposed, was the point of this goal.

"How can anyone help...? We're tied to this same game piece. He can do whatever he wants to me. But, you know...he hasn't hurt me so far. He's actually pretty...normal. Compared to you he's hardly changed..."

Bakura looked...understanding, but at the same time with a little bit of that glare that says "of course you're wrong".

"Yugi, he's faking it. He's acting."

The thought had occurred to him, but wasn't it more likely that Bakura was acting?

"He's not...listen, I know him, ok? I know him. He's not gonna hurt me. He got a little carried away but-"

"Carried away?" Yugi was rudely interrupted, "What did he do?"

If he thought about it too much it'd be enough to let Yami know what was going on.

"He just... he forced me to sleep...it's not like him, but it's also not like he hasn't done it before. He hasn't hurt me..."

Bakura laughed, but it lacked nearly all of the instability and hatred it used to hold.

"Yugi, I'm telling you, he's-"

"I'm what?"

It was faster than an instant. Suddenly, Yugi had no control over anything, and when he pushed back, he realized he had no hope of overtaking the spirit standing in his place. At least, not right now.

" _Yami! What are you doing...?"_

"That's _enough,_ Yugi. That's enough out of you."

" _Yami...?"_

"ENOUGH!"

The outburst shocked Yugi into silence.

"That's better. Now, what were you saying? Something about me being dangerous?"

"Yes. We both know that right now you're dangerous."

It seemed Bakura had inherited Yami's calmness in the face of danger, along with the compassion and loss of hatred he'd received.

"I am dangerous, and that's just horribly unlucky for you. Because, spirit of the ring, it is _so hard_ to stay calm right now, I _swear._ It's so hard not to rip you to pieces where you stand!"

Yugi took a step back, even in his spirit form. _This_ scared him. Yami really was different...

Bakura didn't need to be told to know that Yugi was watching.

"This is what I came to warn you about, Yugi! I knew he'd feel this way! How does it feel...? To feel what I felt every second of every day?"

Yami smirked.

"It feels beyond powerful. Freeing. How did I live, before?"

Bakura looked almost sad. It was a strange emotion to see from him.

"For the first time, Pharaoh, I feel _sorry for you._ Which must've been how you felt about me all that time, before. I have to say, I'm not looking forward to the end of this...hate is blinding..."

Yami frowned, that menacing look he almost never resorted to seemingly stuck on his face.

"I'm not looking forward to the end of this, either. So, how about we _don't let it end._ "

What? No, this had to end. It couldn't be this way forever.

"It's got to end sometime. I designed it that way."

Yami laughed, and Yugi wished he didn't have to hear him this way, because it was honestly terrifying.

"No, I don't think it does."

He turned to look at Yugi, one of the most sickening glares Yugi had seen from him in a very long time, staring into his very soul.

"I"m going to make sure this never ends."


End file.
